Stock Market & Financial Investment News

DRAM supplies to remain tight through 2014, DigiTimes reportsCommodity DRAM supply for PCs is expected to remain tight through all of 2014, reports DigiTimes. According to industry sources, the actual output at SK Hynix's fire-damaged fab has not returned to normal levels despite reports that it has resumed production. Reference Link

Micron and Tsinghua fail to reach consensus in tie-up talks, DigiTimes reportsMicron and Tsinghua Unigroup failed to reach a consensus although it is negotiating a possible tie-up in DRAM business, reports DigiTimes. According to industry sources, Micron wanted to have absolute control over the production capacity the company would share with Tsinghua while the China chipmaker had no interest in just being a manufacturing partner of the US vendor. The sources add that Tsinghua could be the one spreading the rumors that it is looking to make an offer for Micron. Reference Link

Samsung most popular smartphone maker in Q2, TrendForce saysSamsung (SSNLF) was the most popular smartphone maker in the second quarter, even though the smartphone market has started to slow down, according to data from research firm TrendForce. Smartphone shipments will grow 8.2% year over year in 2015, though that's down from the previously anticipated growth rate of 11.6%, the report says. Samsung has led in smartphone shipments with a second-quarter growth of 26.8%. However, Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge's annual shipment forecast has been marked down repeatedly. TrendForce has also revised Samsung's annual smartphone shipments downwards to 45M units this year. As Chinese vendors are taking more shares of the low- to mid-range product market, Samsung's ability to reverse its fortune may hinge on the success of its Galaxy Note 5. If this device is able to attract consumers with upgraded specs and new features, then Samsung will avoid the high possibility of negative shipment growth for this year. Apple (AAPL) rode on the popularity of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in this year's first half and achieved a remarkably strong shipment result in the off-peak season. The next-generation iPhone due to be launched this year offers no major changes in appearance, but Apple has given the device a new A9 processor and upgraded its memory to 2GB LPDDR4 for the first time. These improvements along with the Force Touch module and a camera featuring a possible resolution of 12MP will give the next iPhone a huge boost. Thus, TrendForce's iPhone shipment forecast for this year continues to be very positive with a high growth of 15% upwards. Lenovo (LNVGY) has fallen to No. 6 in the global shipment ranking and is expected to see a 20%-30% decline in this year's shipments. Lenovo's market share did not double as anticipated after its takeover of Motorola in 2014. Moreover, Lenovo did not have a well-defined product positioning strategy and the brand faced strong competition from challengers offering lower-priced smartphone models.

Micron calls Tsinghua takeover offer unrealistic, Reuters reportsMicron has told Tsinghua Unigroup that its $23B takeover offer is unrealistic due to U.S. national security concerns, reports Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter. Sources said Micron believes the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a government task force which Reuters notes has the power to stop mergers that threaten national security, would not approve Tsinghua's proposed deal. Micron has not formally hired an investment bank because it is not seriously considering Tsinghua's offer, the sources added. Reference Link